The Note
by glassycry
Summary: James and Lily discuss what she needs in a bloke. Set in their sixth year. One-shot. L/J.


**A/N – Just a quick little one-shot for you. Some fluff between Lily and James in their sixth year. :)**

**If you are a reader of my chaptered fic, **_**Thrice Defied**_**, then this is sort of an excerpt from Chapter 17. I couldn't really fit it in and make it seem natural, so I just made it a one-shot. :)**

_Thoughts are in italics._

**When it comes to the note:  
**Lily's writing is in underline.  
**James' writing is in bold.**

* * *

Lily Evans sits in the Great Hall with James Potter and her best friend Mary Macdonald finishing their lunch.

It is a bright sunny Wednesday afternoon near the end of May in their sixth year, but all that means to Lily is Ancient Runes then studying then a prefect's meeting before studying again.

"Ah, bloody hell." James says as he digs through his school bag.

"What's up?" Mary asks looking up from her lunch.

"I forgot my Runes notes up in the common room." He says sounding sad as he gets up from the table. "I'll just see you in class, Lily." She smiles and nods before he heads out of the Great Hall to go get his notes.

"Why doesn't he just borrow your notes? It's almost the end of term." Mary says.

"We are reviewing and he has been going over all his notes to make sure they are correct." Lily tells Mary, smiling at how responsible of a thing it is to do.

"Ah, well, have fun in Runes. I am going to go see if I can copy Rem's Herbology notes." Mary says getting up from the table.

Lily makes her way up to the Ancient Runes classroom thinking about how the entire next hour will just be her and James. Sitting next to each other, alone, without their friends to interrupt them. She wonders how many times their arms will 'accidentally' brush or how many times she will catch him looking sideways at her. She wonders if this may be another lesson where he makes comments under his breath that have her nearly bursting from silent laughter. Maybe they will pass notes back and forth on a shared piece of parchment.

She never really knows what's in store when she is alone with James, but ever since the beginning of the year she finds herself continually looking forward to it.

"Hey, Lil! Wait up!"

"Hi, Ezra." Lily says as the boy stops in front of her.

"I wanted to catch you before the prefect's meeting tonight."

"Sure, what's up?"

"We had to rework the rounds schedule for the next few days. A couple of Ravenclaws are complaining that they don't get enough time to study and our dear Head Girl says that she absolutely cannot patrol with me tomorrow or Monday." Ezra tells her.

Ezra Diggory is a seventh year Hufflepuff and is Head Boy. He has short brown hair and is very kind. He is fair and honest but a tad bit boring. Lily has always admired his leadership qualities and wasn't at all surprised when she found out he was Head Boy.

His partner however, Head Girl, Ursula Knott was a complete surprise to her. Ursula Knott is a mean-spirited girl who dislikes any girl who is prettier than her. And as she has looks akin to a hippogriff, it's not hard to get on her bad side.

"What did you do to piss off Knotty?" Lily asks playfully.

"Apparently pairing her boyfriend with the other Slytherin seventh year prefect was a big mistake on my part." He says with a sigh and Lily laughs.

"Just let me know the new patrol dates, I will change-up my study schedule to fit it." Lily promises.

"Thanks Lily, I knew I could count on you. I wouldn't be surprised if you are Head Girl next year, although… Dumbledore did pick Knotty, so who knows." He says with a smile.

Lily feels his hand on her arm. She looks down at it surprised. Then she glances over as she sees movement from the other end of the corridor. She watches as James walks slowly down the hall. Lily can't help the smile that crosses her face at the sight of him.

"Thanks Ezra, but I really should be getting to class."

"Alright, I'll see you tonight, Lil." He says, removing his hand from her arm and walking back down the corridor.

When James reaches her she finds him looking sulky. "What's with you, couldn't find your notes?" She asks as they take their seats at their usual table.

"No, I found them." He tells her as the bell signaling the start of the lesson rings.

"Then what, some first years throw up on them or something?" Lily asks confused by his attitude. That morning in Herbology he was perfectly kind to her and all through lunch he smiled and laughed with her.

He is about to respond when Professor Babbling calls the class to order and they turn to pay attention. Lily still can't shake the feeling that something is bugging him. So, for the first time ever, she pulls out a spare piece of parchment and dips her quill in his favorite green ink. Usually it is James that starts their notes.

Is something wrong, James?

He looks over at her as she pushes the note towards him. She sees a smile return to his lips.  
**  
Nothing, don't worry about it, Lil.**

_Lil? He never has called me Lil_. _What is with him today?_

I know it's something. You're never in a bad mood in Runes.   
**It's nothing to worry about. Nothing I haven't dealt with before.  
**  
This puzzles Lily. She tries to think of what all could have happened between him going to get his Runes notes and the beginning of class. Then it hits her. Why he is suddenly in a bad mood, the reason he called her 'Lil'.

_He must have taken Ezra's and my conversation out of context. He only saw Ezra's hand on my arm and the way he said 'See you tonight, Lil.'_

Lily can't help the smile that comes to her lips. _Could his bad mood be jealously over me? _

What happened? Did Ezra or Knotty put you in another detention? Or are you and Sirius fighting?

She casually tosses Ezra's name in there to see his reaction. As she expects, he blanches.

**Diggory is a git. And it's not detention nor is it Padfoot.**  
Ezra is Head Boy.  
**Doesn't mean he can't be a git.**  
You just don't like that he is a good Keeper.

James scoffs out loud at this and writes back furiously.

**Diggory is not a good Keeper. I scored nine goals in our last match against Hufflepuff! That boy should have never been allowed on his broomstick, he is too busy trying to be like his brother. Amos was a good Quidditch player.**

Lily smirks at the rant he just went on.

Well, I suppose you are right there. Ezra isn't the best Quidditch player, but he is a good Head Boy. He just was telling me about the new round schedules he is going to give out tonight in our prefect's meeting.

She had to let him in on why she would be seeing Ezra tonight. Though seeing him jealous was fun and good for her ego, she didn't want him to think that she likes Ezra. She watches his face as he reads the notes and she is surprised to see that he still looks a little down, though much better than a moment ago.

**I suppose he will pair you up with him for a few nights, everyone knows the Head Boy has a thing for you.  
**I doubt it. He has always shown interest in Tiana.  
**Maybe, but it seems to me like he wants to be more than rounds partners with you. **

Lily shakes her head at him and he smiles.

He will have to settle for rounds partners and nothing else. Ezra is the exact opposite of what I need right now.  
**Boring git isn't your type anymore?**  
Boring git was never my type.  
**Explain Selwyn then.  
**Point taken, but it's not my type anymore.  
**What is then**?  
It's a secret.  
**I can keep secrets as you very well know.**

She looks over sideways at him and he sees him grinning at her. She shakes her head at him and he pulls the paper back to himself.

**If I guess will you tell me?**  
I suppose.  
**Smart**?  
Of course.  
**Funny.**  
No question mark there?  
**None needed, I know you need a bloke with a sense of humor. You love to laugh.**  
Do I?  
**You do.**  
Hm, well since you seem to know me better than I do myself, what else am I looking for?  
**You want a good-looking bloke.**  
Not necessary but always a plus.  
**Tall?**  
Yes.  
**You want someone who keeps you on your toes.  
**Sounds good.  
**Someone who will defend you, but not be over protective.**

Lily isn't exactly sure how he knows all this, but he is describing her perfect man to her. Also, she realizes, most of the characteristics belong to James himself. She wonders if he knows this and is doing it on purpose.

I don't need protection, but someone who will stand up for me is actually a desirable quality.  
**You like a bloke who isn't afraid to get dirty.**  
I am going to ignore the double entendre there and say, yes, I don't want a pretty boy.

James smiles at this and passes the note back to her.

**Let's go back to the double entendre.**

Lily laughs out loud at this and Babbling stops her lecture and turns around to glare at them.

"Is something funny about the translation of this symbol, Miss Evans?" Professor Babbling is a relatively young professor and is known to be more lenient on her students.

Lily smiles at the witch. "No Ma'am, I was just was laughing at my notes. I mistranslated it and it said something rather strange." She lies and hears James' soft snort from next to her.

The professor gives her a warm smile before turning back to the board behind her. As she continues on with her lecture Lily pulls the note back to herself.

You are going to get me into trouble.  
**A little trouble never hurt anyone. Besides, I would never get you in trouble.  
**You are trouble.  
**Like I said, a little trouble never hurt anyone**.  
You are far from little.  
**Talk about a double entendre. **

James grins widely as he passes the note back. Lily's face goes red as she realizes her mistake. She can't help but smile as he grins at her. She shakes her head at him.

Trouble.  
**Maybe you need more trouble.  
**Is that another guess?  
**No. Just my opinion.**  
What else do I need, in your opinion?

James doesn't write back for a moment and Lily wonders what he is thinking. He just smiles as he writes something down and then looks over at her. He is about to pass the note back to her when Babbling calls on him.

"Do you know what the proper translation is, Mr. Potter?"

James looks up and stares at the Rune written on the black board. "Uh, that is the symbol for Ehwaz." James says and Lily smiles, thinking he is correct.

"This is the symbol for Eihwaz, Mr. Potter. This –" She says waving her wand and making an almost identical symbol appear. "Is the symbol for Ehwaz. You should have seen the difference. Maybe if I write the symbols on Miss Evans' head you will pay closer attention." Babbling says and the rest of the class snickers at the two red faces of Lily and James.

"Sorry, Professor." James says and Babbling turns back to her blackboard to continue to the lecture.

James scratches out whatever he had written previously and writes something underneath it.

**Now who's trouble?**

Lily smirks at the paper. She wants to reply but Babbling is keeping a close eye on the pair now. Lily tucks the parchment away under her notes and pays attention to the rest of the lecture.

When the bell signaling the end of the lesson rings out, Lily quickly writes her reply. When James' head is turned she slips the note in his bag.

Later that night, in the common room, Lily watches as James pulls the note from his bag. She watches as a small smile plays on his lips as his eyes scoot across the paper.

When he reaches the last line she sees his eyes light up and a grin spread across his face.

A little trouble never hurt anyone.

* * *

**A/N – Well? What'd ya think? **


End file.
